Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)
List Price:
Our Price: $14.99
You Save: $4.99 (25%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $8.26 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Daniels, Brian Blessed, Kenny Baker, Oliver Ford Davies, Pernilla AugustCinematographer: David Tattersall
Composer: John Williams
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 133 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-03-22
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Accessories:
Movie Reviews of Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: Wow. That's all I can say...wow.
Summary: 1 Stars
Just watched this again on TV the other day. The acting is simply astounding. I can feel for the actors, as the dialogue is so atrocious that it's almost beyond belief, but still. Were they physically prevented from doing the thing that we normally think of when the word "acting" is mentioned? I mean, blurting out some dialogue, or reciting it as if you're making an emotionless statement, that's not acting. Seriously, this is what I expect from fifth graders appearing in their very first school play. It's just astonishes me every time one of the characters says something. It's like a big, dumb, obvious summary of what's going on at the moment. "Mom, I'm not a slave any more!" Mom: "All your dreams have come true." Said with all the emotion of "Oh, you remembered to pick up the potato chips from the store." Probably 80% of the dialogue in this movie is like this. Most first-time script readthroughs on a soap opera must be far superior to this. Seriously, Scooby Doo has better acting - much, much better. I honestly can't remember ever seeing anything like this, except maybe in the worst of the worst of Sci-Fi Originals. And even then, it's not every member of the entire cast like it is here.
Then of course there's Jar Jar, the baby talking donkey. I guess Lucas was really reaching out for the 2 and under audience. And the big battle at the end, with a villain we hardly know, so there's really no drama there (except what can be created with CGI), and he looks downright silly in that Halloween face paint. Oh, let's not forget the story, as Annakin's fighter gets hit, causing him to go out of control. He ACCIDENTALLY flies into the space station, then while shooting at some droids, ACCIDENTALLY hits the main reactor, which nicely waits for him to get to a safe distance before exploding. Good grief, it's too stupid and pathetic to even bother criticizing.
Overall, this is an astonishingly bad movie, with dialogue that keeps one in a constant state of "What the **** did I just see?". I mean, constantly,. throughout the whole film. The action is much the same, dumb, silly, dopey. the tone of the movie goes from "epic drama" to dopey silliness, back and forth, pretty much every thirty seconds. Dopey droids are vwooshed in half by the increasingly boring sounds of light sabers, which now look more like a fluorescent tube than any sort of weapon. And then they chop another two dozen in half, then another three dozen, then another dozen. Then another two dozen.
Summary of Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)
"I have a bad feeling about this," says the young Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace as he steps off a spaceship and into the most anticipated cinematic event... well, ever. He might as well be speaking for the legions of fans of the original episodes in the Star Wars saga who can't help but secretly ask themselves: Sure, this is Star Wars, but is it my Star Wars? The original elevated moviegoers' expectations so high that it would have been impossible for any subsequent film to meet them. And as with all the Star Wars movies, The Phantom Menace features inexplicable plot twists, a fistful of loose threads, and some cheek-chewing dialogue. Han Solo's swagger is sorely missed, as is the pervading menace of heavy-breather Darth Vader. There is still way too much quasi-mystical mumbo jumbo, and some of what was fresh about Star Wars 22 years earlier feels formulaic. Yet there's much to admire. The special effects are stupendous; three worlds are populated with a m?lange of creatures, flora, and horizons rendered in absolute detail. The action and battle scenes are breathtaking in their complexity. And one particular sequence of the film--the adrenaline-infused pod race through the Tatooine desert--makes the chariot race in Ben-Hur look like a Sunday stroll through the park.Among the host of new characters, there are a few familiar walk-ons. We witness the first meeting between R2-D2 and C-3PO, Jabba the Hutt looks younger and slimmer (but not young and slim), and Yoda is as crabby as ever. Natalie Portman's stately Queen Amidala sports hairdos that make Princess Leia look dowdy and wields a mean laser. We never bond with Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), and Obi-Wan's day is yet to come. Jar Jar Binks, a cross between a Muppet, a frog, and a hippie, provides many of the movie's lighter moments, while Sith Lord Darth Maul is a formidable force. Baby-faced Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) looks too young and innocent to command the powers of the Force or wield a lightsaber (much less transmute into the future Darth Vader), but his boyish exuberance wins over skeptics.
Near the end of the movie, Palpatine, the new leader of the Republic, may be speaking for fans eagerly awaiting Episode II when he pats young Anakin on the head and says, "We will watch your career with great interest." Indeed! --Tod Nelson
Begin your STAR WARS DVD collection with STAR WARS: Episode 1 THE PHANTOM MENACE. Packed with over six hours of additional material, including exclusive documentaries and never-before-seen deleted scenes, this 2-disc set provides the perfect showcase for the incredible detail and breathtaking scope of George Lucas's first episode in the mythic STAR WARS saga.
Science Fiction & Fantasy DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Great Sci-Fi movies
Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines (2-Disc Widescreen Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (Extreme DVD)TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY - EXTREME DVD (DVD; Release date: 2003-06-03; DVD
Best price: $3.94
Price in other shops:
The TerminatorMGM; Release date: 2001-10-02; DVD
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops:
12 Monkeys (Special Edition)Release date: 2005-05-10; DVD
Best price: $5.80
Price in other shops:
The Fifth Element (Ultimate Edition)Sony; Release date: 2005-01-11; DVD
Best price: $9.70
Price in other shops:
Blade Runner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-12-18; DVD
Best price: $22.99
Price in other shops:
2001 - A Space Odyssey (Two-Disc Special Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $16.93
Price in other shops:
Predator 2 (Two-Disc Special Edition)Release date: 2005-01-25; DVD
Best price: $9.94
Price in other shops:
Predator (Widescreen Collector's Edition)Release date: 2004-08-10; DVD
Best price: $9.65
Price in other shops:
Alien Quadrilogy (Alien/ Aliens / Alien 3 / Alien Resurrection)Release date: 2003-12-02; DVD
Best price: $29.49
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (2-discs with Full Screen enhanced and original theatrical versions)Release date: 2006-09-12; DVD
Best price: $12.32
Price in other shops:
Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (2-discs with Full Screen enhanced and original theatrical versions)Release date: 2006-09-12; DVD
Best price: $13.36
Price in other shops:
Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (1977 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition)Release date: 2006-09-12; DVD
Best price: $12.85
Price in other shops:
Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition)Release date: 2006-09-12; DVD
Best price: $13.37
Price in other shops:
Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition)Release date: 2006-09-12; DVD
Best price: $13.37
Price in other shops:
Star Wars Trilogy (Full Screen Edition Without Bonus Disc)Release date: 2005-12-06; DVD
Best price: $33.99
Price in other shops:
Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition Without Bonus Disc)Release date: 2005-12-06; DVD
Best price: $35.99
Price in other shops:
Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc)Release date: 2004-09-21; DVD
Best price: $34.25
Price in other shops:
Star Wars - Episode III, Revenge of the Sith (Widescreen Edition)STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SI (DVD; Release date: 2005-11-01; DVD
Best price: $13.37
Price in other shops:
Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)STAR WARS: EPISODE 2 - ATTACK OF THE CLONES (; Release date: 2005-03-22; DVD
Best price: $13.37
Price in other shops: